Chocolate and peanut butter–a classic combination. There’s a reason why these two pair so well together. Bittersweet, rich chocolate and salty, savory peanut butter combine for a pairing that just gets your taste buds tingling. This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake is precisely that–a classic wrapped in a pastry crust that’ll have you satisfied with every bite.
One of my favorite things about trying to come up with new recipes is asking others what they’d like to see. It may seem weird that it took a text to my sisters and nephew to give way to this classic and perhaps obvious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake, but knowing that it’s something they wanted to see made it more exciting to work on.
This started off with a message requesting a pairing of cream cheese and dark chocolate, and my nephew’s overall love of peanut butter. Cream cheese and dark chocolate just screamed cheesecake to me, and as someone who loves the look of a chocolate and peanut butter swirled brownie, I knew I had to use a peanut butter swirl to tie the two flavors together.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this blog and the direction that I want to take it moving forward. There was an idea that I had when I originally started this that I’m thinking about going back to. It’s going to take some time to put my original vision together, but I’m excited about the prospect of making some changes so keep your eyes open for them!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 60-70 minutes |
| Passive Time | 4-24 hours |
| Servings |
slices
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- 113 grams unsalted buter softened
- 45 grams granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg large, beaten
- 180 grams all purpose flour
- 1 recipe pâté sucrée (as above)
- 125 grams granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp instant espresso
- 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 454 grams cream cheese softened (8 oz)
- 200 grams sour cream room temperature
- 100 grams bittersweet or dark chocolate melted and cooled
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs large, room temperature
- 65 grams creamy peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
Ingredients
Pâté Sucrée
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
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- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Add in the salt and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Mix in the beaten egg until everything comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in 1/2 of the flour and mix on low until the mixture begins to pull together. Add in the other 1/2 of the flour and mix on low until just almost combined. Remove the bowl from the stand and continue to incorporate the flour with a rubber spatula or with a clean hand. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball. Place on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten the ball into a disc about 1 inch high. Wrap tightly. Using a rolling pin, gently press on the dough to seal it tighter in the plastic wrap. Allow to chill 1 hour to overnight.
- PAR-BAKE THE CRUST: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a large baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven to heat up. Lightly grease a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge.* Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out your dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. It should be larger than the tart pan. Gently roll the dough over the rolling pin and place into the prepared tart pan. Gently press the pastry into the pan, you should have some overhang. Run a sharp knife along the top of the tart pan as a guide to trim off the excess pastry. Using a fork, dock the bottom of the pastry. Place in the freezer and allow to chill for 10-30 minutes. Remove the chilled pastry from the freezer. Line with a piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights (dry beans or dry rice work great as well) to weigh the pastry down. Place the tart pan on the warm baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and take out the parchment paper and the weights/beans/rice. Return the crust to the middle rack of the oven and allow to bake for another 5-10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before adding any filling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, stir together the sugar, corn starch, and instant espresso. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and stir until mixed through. Add in the cream cheese and whisk on medium high until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to clean off the whisk and switch to the paddle attachment.
- Add in the sour cream and beat on low until smooth and combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed. Add in the melted and cooled dark chocolate and the vanilla extract and beat on low until fully combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating fully between each addition. until you have a mixture that's silky and smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the cooled tart shell onto a large baking sheet. Pour the cheesecake filling into the pre-baked tart crust until it just about comes to the top. You might still have a little bit of the filling left over.
- Warm the peanut butter until it's smooth and runny. Whisk in the powdered sugar until fully combined. Using a spoon or a pastry bag, drizzle the peanut butter over the top of the cheesecake filling. Take a toothpick or a butter knife and swirl the peanut butter into the filling. Be careful not to swirl too much--you want to be able to see both the chocolate and peanut butter on the top.
- Place the baking sheet with the filled tart onto the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Be careful not to open the door to let out steam while the cheesecake bakes. The sides and the center of the cheesecake will puff up a bit as it gets closer to being ready. Give the cheesecake a gentle shake before removing from the oven; the center should give a slight wobble. Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Transfer the tart pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely for 3-4 hours. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours. Remove from the tart pan and serve.
* If you let the dough chill overnight, you might need to let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before rolling. If you start to roll and see that the edges begin to crack, allow the dough to sit for an extra 5-10 minutes to warm up a bit.